6 Types of Bosses that breaks you

I have written types of coworkers article and the response is overwhelming so I decided to write types of bosses that break you. Let’s see if you agree with the list below:

1. The Micro ManagerHe manages anything and anyone micro, doesn’t believe in staff empowerment. If he gives you a task, he’ll be checking with you every 15 minutes. When you are done with the assignment, he will alter the document 90%, making you wonder why he didn’t do it himself in the first place.

2. The Meddling MotherShe checks on you at work and outside of work. She ask very personal questions, clean up after everyone and even nags at you when you take unhealthy lunches. The worst part is that she don’t trust anyone in her team and their capabilities. She will tell you that you are not ready for promotion or to climb the next step, even though you have been in the same position for 7 years. Her favorite sentence is “Not that I don’t want to let you spearhead that project but I’m afraid you are not ready and I don’t want to see you fail…” When she said that ten times in a row to you, you know she isn’t ready to let go of her baby – you.

3. The Selfish OneStraight up, easily identifiable, you will have at least one of these in your career lifetime. She only cares about herself and herself only. Whatever you do, doesn’t matter to her as long as it benefit her and doesn’t affect her in a negative way. When she gives speeches about teamwork and team spirit, you know she meant that you work with her and not against her. She only takes the best projects with the best spotlights and leave the rest to you.

4. Mr InsecureHe doesn’t like his staff smarter than him, he loves to hire the meek and quiet ones because he thinks they are safer and would not climb over his position. Those who gets pay raises or better appraisals are the bootlickers and apple polishers. Anytime you have a great idea, he will be the first to shoot it down.

5. The BullyMyself particularly dislike this kind of bosses of all bad bosses. They would ask you to do everything and take credit for it. He will bully you and use all kinds of tactics to have you submissive to him. Scare tactics, over promises, mind games, peer pressures are some of the daily actions he does in order to get you to do extra work outside your scope and your time or to be agreeable to do things that you don’t feel it is ethical. He doesn’t really care as long as it doesn’t dirty his hands.

6. Mr LazyHe thinks he is Mr. Macro-Manager, always the generous boss and always sharing. He might be overzealous when comes to work delegation. You seem to do all his work for him, go to his meetings, does his reports while still juggling your own work scope. When you complain, he laughed and said it’s for your own good that he is teaching you the ropes of management. Gives you a pat on the back and probably buy you an expensive lunch before adding more of his workload onto yours. He never takes credits, always pushing you into the spotlight but you does so much of his work, you can’t help but wonder what does he do in the office every day?

Have you come across such a boss in your career life? Share your story with us in the comments below!

23 replies on “6 Types of Bosses that breaks you”

It’s a good list, as often, good job! But Kally dear, watch your grammar (6 types of bosses that break you – I particularly dislike this kind of boss above all kinds …). Your posts are useful and entertaining, but can I suggest you team up with a mother-tongue person to check your texts before you post? I hope you don’t mind my advice, it’s precisely because I’d love you to go for perfect 🙂

Great post, Kally. I had a Mr Lazy, who was a passive-aggressive bully, who drove me (literally) mad, and still hurts me in ways I fail to completely understand. I also had a boss in a big corporation who once told me not to return from sick leave because it would be better all round, and also told me not to apply for promotion because the post had been given, and the experience would be a waste of everyone’s time. Apart from that (around 12 of my 53 years), I’ve been lucky!!! 🙂

I was haunted by a Micro Manager once! He always believed in giving a free reign, provided the reign is tethered to his wrist. 😀 He always butted in with his ideas and never believed that yours would work! A nightmare, indeed!

Kally, I do believe you have met them all, the long the short in the tall, bully or wimp, bosses are what they are. I had a boss one time I thought was great. He trusted me to become an apprentice printer operator in his very successful offset printing shop. I loved the job. The one drawback was his father. If I got there early set up my machine he would be there, hovering over me. No matter what I started to do was wrong in his eyes. I didn’t do it exactly like him, he was there to tell me immediately and swore a lot. I was hired by the boss’s son but he didn’t have the courage to stand up to fight for me. He knew his dad was treating me wrong. So I left the job and no doubt what would’ve been a very good career in the printing business. Life does go on.